First Impressions
by FieryArtemis
Summary: Ladybug and Chat Noir meet for the first time.


**A/N:** We're gonna mark this down as "definitely will be AU in the future." When the origin episode comes out I'm sure. For now though, please enjoy my take on LadyNoir's first meeting! Also please note that I have way too much fun writing Chat Noir…

* * *

"Ladybug, I will take your Miraculous!" shrieked the villainess that had her cornered. The words felt like they were in surround sound on account that the villain seemed to have mirror and copying related powers. Right now, Ladybug was looking at three of them. All of them were tapping a baton against their open palm in synchronization. If she had to make a bet it was probably what the akuma had infected. It was practically glowing. Ladybug knew from first hand experience that she _didn't_ want to get hit by the baton because it hurt really, really bad!

Ladybug backed up a half step and promptly hit her back against the wall. This was great, just great! It will be easy Ladybug, Tikki had said. No problem, Tikki had said. Yeah, well now it was looking like a _real_ problem. "Tikki," she growled despite the fact that her kwami had disappeared into her earrings when she'd transformed, "A little help with dealing with this majorette nutcase would be nice."

 _She's an akuma!_

Ladybug winced. Akuma, villain? Same thing, right? Either way she looked at it though, it was clear that Tikki wasn't going to be able to be much help to her at the moment. Not that Tikki was ever able to really help her whenever she transformed. Ladybug probably should've known that by now. This was, what… her third or fourth transformation? She still wasn't very good at it. _Mon Dieu_ she was learning, thankfully, but it was still hard! The fight had started inside a local dance studio but had spilled out into the alley behind it. There was a wake of wreckage behind them to show for it.

The majorette akuma and her copies levelled their batons at her and held out their free hands. "Hand over the Miraculous and I might just let you live."

Ladybug's response was to pull her weapon off of her side and dangle it in front of her. She was fully ready to defend herself with it. Maybe with a well aimed throw and a little luck she could wrap her weapon around the baton to pull it from her grasp. The akuma scoffed and pulled back her weapon to strike. Ladybug spun her weapon in a tight circle. Her opponent took a step forward, starting to twist her shoulders around to hit Ladybug. Wait, Ladybug told herself as a nervous lump fell into her throat. She had to wait for the right moment and…

A staff came out of nowhere. There was a loud clang as metal hit metal and the akuma's baton went sailing out of her hand. She cried out, more from shock than anything else, and spun to face whoever owned the staff. "I'm no expert on this whole hero thing but… I'd say three on one is a little unfair don't you?" a brand new voice called out from behind the akuma.

Ladybug didn't know who it was. She couldn't see him. It was a 'him,' at least judging by his voice. However, she wasn't about to waste a prime opportunity. With a yell, Ladybug launched her weapon at the akuma like a whip. It went straight through the akuma's middle and shattered her. Ladybug blinked in shock as she stared at the spot where the akuma had been. She would've sworn that the center one had been the real one out of the three.

"Woah!" the new voice exclaimed in complete awe. Ladybug looked up at the speaker. He was dressed head to toe in black with a belt tail hanging behind him. Wild, tousled blonde hair fell around his face and a pair of black cat ears poked through the tresses. Green eyes were hidden behind a black mask. His mouth was hanging open as he stared straight at her with reverence. "That was _way_ awesome."

"Who are you supposed to be?" snarled the akuma and her remaining mirror image.

The boy wiped the awestruck look off his face and looked at the akuma. A wide grin stretched across his face. "Um… Chat Noir." he offered, raising his arms into the air in a shrug and pasting on a cheesy smile.

"You have a Miraculous too, don't you?" hissed the akuma. One of them spun around to face him. The boy, Chat Noir, pulled his staff in front of him defensively. "I will take it."

"Eh, that's what they all say." he replied smoothly. He cast a glance at Ladybug. "Mind if I help? Pretty girl like you shouldn't have to do all the work?"

Ladybug jerked back a bit and just looked at him. " _What_? Are you flirting with me? Does this really look like the time?"

The akuma screeched as one leapt at Ladybug and the other leapt at Chat Noir. Right before Ladybug pulled her eyes away she saw Chat Noir grimace. "No, I guess not. Gahh!"

"Two of you in one place. It looks like _my_ lucky day." the akuma said as she lunged at Ladybug's face. Well, more specifically for her ears. Ladybug ducked under her arms and ran through the opening that had appeared when the other copy had broken.

Chat Noir met her somewhere in the middle. As she faced him, she also saw the akuma swinging her baton down at his exposed back. Ladybug called out in warning before slinging her weapon around. Right as she caught the baton in her weapon's string, she heard another metal clang. Ladybug risked a glance over her shoulder. Chat Noir had blocked a strike at her back with his staff. He flashed a grin over at her. "You watch my back and I'll watch yours?" he suggested a bit hopefully.

Right on cue, the akuma laughed and split into two more copies. Four in total now. Ladybug looked around. "We have to figure out which one is the real one." Ladybug said quietly.

"Do you think that will keep her from splitting?" Chat Noir asked. Ladybug hadn't expected him to hear it. He must have had cat like hearing to go along with the cat themed costume. That could be useful.

The akuma yanked her baton away from Ladybug's grasp with a guttural hiss. "I think so. I'm pretty certain that the black butterfly is in her baton. Every time she splits it glows." Ladybug told him.

"Makes sense." nodded Chat Noir. "Here they come!"

Ladybug and Chat Noir leapt away from each other. She rolled across the ground to avoid the baton of one but had to throw herself out of the way of another. "There's just too many of them." Ladybug grumbled.

"Hey one of these things isn't like the other! One of these things isn't quite the same." Chat Noir suddenly sang out. No really. He _sang_ it. Ladybug turned to glare at him.

"If you aren't going to take this seriously then you should just get out of here." she snapped angrily.

"No look at their hands and which one they're holding the batons in." Chat Noir called as he jumped into the air to avoid being clubbed by one of said batons.

Ladybug skipped sideways and swung at the akuma she was fighting. Her punch connected and she went crashing into another copy. That's when Ladybug realized that they were using opposite hands of each other to attack. She whipped around to look at the akumas that Chat Noir was fending off. Both of them were using their left hands to attack. That made three lefties and one, lone right hander. Her eyes widened. "They're mirror images of the real akuma!" she gasped.

That was brilliant!

Now she had a clearer target. All she needed to do was get the copies off her back long enough to part the akuma from her baton. As the akuma and her copy regained their feet though, Ladybug couldn't help herself from thinking that it was easier said than done.

She aimed her next hit at the copy. Just like the first time, Ladybug's weapon went through the copy and shattered it. The real akuma snarled. "Hey! Hey! Get back here!" cried Chat Noir as he jumped on to the back of one of the copies.

Chat Noir threw his body weight backwards, sending both of them to the ground. He somehow managed to fling the one he'd been on top of over his body with the momentum before popping back up. Without wasting any time, Chat Noir took a bounding leap over the copies and over to the bottom of a lamp post. Chat Noir flashed a quick grin before raising his hand into the air and shouting, "Cataclysm!"

Ladybug groaned. Apparently the answer was yes, this boy could be any cheesier. _Cat_ aclysm? A pun really?

A bubble of black magic rushed to his outstretched hand. Chat Noir thrust his hand flat against the lamp post. There was a horrific crack as the metal rapidly went from it's neat painted black to pock marked with rust. Chat Noir gave it a good kick and it went crashing down on to the two remaining copies of the akuma. "Two for the price of one. Not bad don't you think?" he smirked playfully at her. He raised his hand to point at the majorette akuma. Both she and Ladybug had stopped momentarily to watch Chat Noir. "Last one's all yours Mademoiselle."

"Right! Lucky Charm!" she called as she tossed her weapon into the air. Tikki's magic spilled out in a bright light. When it cleared a bottle of water fell from the sky and into her hand. Ladybug groaned. "A water bottle?" she asked the nonexistent Tikki skeptically.

"Are ya thirsty or something?" Chat Noir asked as he invaded her personal space and looked over her shoulder quizzically at the water bottle.

"I don't have any control over it." she told him. The aggravation was clear in her voice. He immediately stepped off and raised his hands placatingly.

"So any ideas on what to do?" questioned Chat Noir. That was when the majorette akuma's baton glowed again. The look on her face as she split herself into three was murderous. Ladybug winced. She eyed the water bottle in her hand. The akuma and her copies raised their batons menacingly.

Ladybug wouldn't be able to get close enough to the akuma to just take her weapon. The akuma wasn't just going to _give up_ her baton either. The batons! Water bottle plus a copy's baton could possibly equal wet majorette akuma. Wet majorette akuma would mean slippery baton which meant that Ladybug could use her weapon to pull it from her grasp. It was a dumb, silly idea and would require a lot of luck. Ladybug smirked as she held the water bottle in the air. "Good thing my power is good luck."

"Huh?" Chat Noir blinked. Very eloquent this new friends of hers.

"I need some time!" she said as she turned to face him. His jaw fell open. Probably because of the look on her face. Ladybug was burning with determination. "Can you keep one of those two copies busy for me and buy me some time?"

Chat Noir glanced down at the ring on his hand briefly. He winked at her. "For you? I can make some time."

Apparently, yes. This boy could be a _whole lot_ cheesier. "Go for it Chat Noir!" Ladybug called.

The akuma and her copies lunged. Chat Noir jumped forward to meet one of the copies, driving a roundhouse kick on to the side of her. Ladybug darted sideways. The second copy came after her while the real akuma hung back. As the copy raised her baton over her shoulder, Ladybug threw the water bottle at her face. The akuma changed targets to deflect the water bottle and it went flying right at the real akuma's face.

The majorette akuma let out a strangled gasp as water sprayed everywhere. Her hand and baton were dripping with water. Exactly the way Ladybug had planned.

Ladybug threw. Her weapon's string wrapped around the baton and she yanked… hard. "No!" screamed the akuma.

It was too late though. Ladybug brought the baton down over her knee. A blast of light exploded in the air as the two mirror images of the akuma shattered. The akuma herself collapsed to her knees as the black butterfly's transformation wore off. "Watch out!" yelled Chat Noir frantically as he pointed to the black butterfly that was quickly fluttering away. "It's getting away!"

"No it isn't!" Ladybug called as she activated the magic in her weapon and threw. "Come back here!"

The two halves of her weapon closed around the butterfly with a snap. Ladybug could feel the purifying magic pulsing through her hand as the weapon returned to her. It popped open and a snow white butterfly flew away. There was just one thing left to do now. Ladybug collected the water bottle off the ground and tossed it into the air. "Miraculous Cure!"

A wave washed over the back alley and the dance studio, repairing all the damage that had been done. Without missing a beat, Ladybug turned and grabbed Chat Noir under his arm and dragged him away from the scene.

"You are amazing!" Chat Noir told her as they came to a halt a safe distance away from the scene of the akuma attack. He stepped towards her with his hand outstretched. Ladybug paused. Now that the fight was over, she could give this Chat Noir newcomer a closer look. She ran her eyes up and down him. "Wh...what?" he stammered as he hand wavered in the air.

"Thank you for helping me but just who exactly are you?" she said. Ladybug crossed her arms over her chest. She had no clue who this boy was. For all she knew he could be someone sent by the enemy to gain her trust and destroy her. One little act of heroism wasn't enough to put to rest suspicions.

Chat Noir pulled his hand back. Judging by the way he was pouting, he was downright disappointed that she hadn't shaken his hand. "I'm, um, Chat Noir. You know… the black cat of misfortune and prowler of the night in search of evil villains." he explained a little sheepishly.

Ladybug shot him a skeptical look. "Do you seriously call yourself that?"

"It sounded better in my head when I was rehearsing it." he mumbled. Then he perked up, "And you're the Miraculous Ladybug. Evil's greatest foe! You're a lot cuter in person than in your pictures."

Ladybug resisted the urge to beat the heel of her palm into her forehead. Focus. She needed to focus. "And how do I know you're not someone who was sent to trick me?"

"Because I…" he stopped. "That's a good question. Um… what's the answer that will get you to trust me?"

"The _honest_ one," Ladybug snorted with an eye roll.

Chat Noir huffed a sigh, "Listen. I know next to nothing about what is going on. All I know is about three months ago I got this dumb ring, my Miraculous, and the grumpy kwami attached to it. _He_ says that there's some big bad guy trying to steal the Miraculous and I have to stop him."

That caught Ladybug's attention. "Let me guess, your kwami has no clue who this mysterious malevolent man is other than the name Hawkmoth and knows even less about why he wants the Miraculous." she added.

"Yeah!" Chat Noir gave an enthusiastic nod. "Exactly!"

Ladybug bit back a smile as she brushed her hand over her earrings. She'd heard something similar from Tikki just a handful of weeks ago. Tikki's voice murmured through her brain. _I think we should trust him. He's kind of familiar._

Three months. Chat Noir had had his ring for three months and he was just now getting around to meeting her? Ladybug cocked her head to the side and gave him a more curious look. "How long have you been transforming?" she asked.

"Um… not long. I didn't even know I could transform and do this hero thing until I started seeing you on the news." he admitted. He glared at the ring on his finger. "I've been doing what I can here and there. I'm still learning. I've figured out though that I can't do that purifying thing you do though.

"What have you been doing with the akumas you stop then. You told the majorette akuma you'd fought other akumas before in a roundabout way, or was that a bluff?"

"What! No!" he said loudly and quickly. He threw his arms over his chest like a surly child and scowled. "I have, like, three of those suckers sitting in mason jars in my bedroom. I couldn't figure out what to do with them and I didn't just want to let them go y'know. Didn't want round two with an akuma."

Ladybug blinked, "You have three evil infecting butterflies in your bedroom?"

"Yeah." nodded Chat Noir.

"In _mason jars_?" she repeated in disbelief. Chat Noir winced.

"The lids are screwed on really tight." he offered. Another nervous laughed escaped him. Ladybug groaned and buried her face in her palm. "Think you'd like to help me purify them?"

"Well they can't just chill in your bedroom for who knows how long." she sighed.

Chat Noir perked up, shoulders dropping down and head popping up as he were a cat that had heard something. "Really! We can see each other again? Like really?"

"I suppose that's what me helping you purify agents of evil means."

"Does that mean we can work together again?"

Ladybug shrugged, "I mean I guess we could if you wanted to. Just know this cat, I'll be watching every move you make."

A giant, pleased, _mischievous_ smile spread across Chat Noir's face. "I'm okay with that. I'll make sure I give you something nice to watch."

"I'm going before I run out of power." Ladybug groaned as she turned on her heel. She looped her weapon's string around the nearest drain spout. As she tested it's hold she turned around and looked at Chat Noir. "I'll meet you tomorrow evening at the Eiffel Tower. Nine o'clock okay."

"I'll see you there." Chat Noir assured her brightly. He started to say something else but was cut off by a shrill beep. He made a face. "I gotta go too. Until next time then _belle fille_!"

He took off running. Ladybug spared a couple moments to watch him go before shaking her head. She let her weapon pull her into the air and away. Ladybug had a feeling that this Superhero thing had just gotten a lot more interesting. Or frustrating. She wasn't sure which it was yet.


End file.
